Stud retainer



` tion of Illinois t invention relates to a stud retainer. particularly to a snap-on washer-like l with fastener studs of the i adjacent one end. transversely prowith cowl fasteners in airplane conother similar construction, are genthe type having a cylindrical body with a opposite projecting members adjacent end. ii fastener stud of this type is i.. a suitable opening in a body or t l is to be fastened or secured in posiu relative to another body. In mets-pe of n the opening in the cover or body is tely equal to the sum of the diameter bod! of the stud and the length of one of i u Meeting members adjacent the end of the insert a stud into such opening the stud through the opening and then the pin ha straightened and the other proiecting assed through the opening. such an m' the like is removed and handled. the studs may drop out from these openings )im types of construction the opening or mim' the body of the fastener stud is slightly i "man the diameter ofthe stud to provide i ont of the stud with its cooperating` fas- The opening may be smaller than the e heretofore described. and hence the t `als projecting cross members comprise a aillentheendof'thestud hasbeen inserted haanopening. In such an arrangement i is no likelihood of the fastener stud becomlolt but the labor involved in installation is as to constitute a distinct disadvantage. me, is apparent that it would be hllhly j i to provide a simpler manner of retainm stud in position which would obviate the mme mentioned disadvantages. In accordance the t invention. there is provided a M n for holding fastener studs in position in i niece cover or sheet prior to ai'ilxing the the openings to be covered and while s arebeing handled `Such retainer is il to be applied to the stud by snapping i :metallici-beyond the transversely projecting t ...adjacent the end of the fastener stud. igsoformed that the mechanic who here. `ltllillofililetypecommonly usediii` and transversely arranged di' which are inserted in a position -by a suitable Nlrlzi)N s'rA'ri-:s Param*I OFFICE i amsn Application 3, 1944. Serial No. 561.735`

ly and eiliciently largely by feel. Furthermore such retainer is formed so that when the retainer is once mapped on to a stud. there is no likelihood of accidental removal of the retainer and further the retainer has sumcient rigidity as to substantially preclude the removal of the retainer by force.

It therefore is an oblect of the present invention to provide an improved type of stud retainer which is readily applied thereto without tools and without special manipulation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved stud retainer for use with a stud of the type having adjacent one end transversely arranged projecting members which may be rotated on the end of the stud so that the proiecting members tend to seek the proper position relative to the retainer for application of the retainer.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved stud retainer so formed that when the retainer has been applied to the stud, that the retainer will tend to orient itself relative to the transverse projecting members of the stud so as to preclude removal of the stud.

Other and further objects of the present invention subsequently will become apparent by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1`is a plan view of a stud retainer constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the retainer and adjacent work sheet or cover with a stud retainer in operative position;

Figure 3 illustrates the manner in which the stud retainer may be used with a cowl fastener without interfering with the operation thereof: and

Fig-ure t illustrates the manner in which the retainer of the present invention is applied to a fastener stud.

In Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing there is shown a retainer Ill comprising a generally fiat washer-like member having a central aperture i2, an outer rim portion il, and an intermediate portion il. The intermediate portion I6 is partially severed from the rim I4 along two arcuate lines i8 and 2li symmetrically arranged opposite each other so as to leave supporting areas 22 and 24. The intermediate portion I6 is severed along a diametrical line 2B which line bisects the angles of the arcuate, lines le and 2|. Thus the intermediate'portion is formed into four resill 3 sage of projecting transverse members 28 adjacent the end of the body 80 of a stud fastener having a head 82. The intermediate portions I8 adjacent the transverse line 28 are formed so that the ends of the fingers are displaced upwardly from the plane of the rim I4 as is readily ap.- parent from the side view in Figure 2. Preferably the four fingers 84, 38. 88, and 48 are so arranged or formed that the ends of adjacent fingers such as 84. 88, and 48, 48 are so close together as to preclude orientation of the cross members 28 of the fastener stud 30 after the fastener has been applied to the fastener stud.

The fingers 84, 88, 18 and 40 have been shown as being formed upwardly from the plane of the rim III so as to form an obtuse angle between pairs of fingers along the diametrical severing line 2l. Obviously of course other configurations besides that shown in Figure 2 may be employed provided that the same function is served as has been described and as will become more fully apparent subsequently. The resilient fingers 34, I8, 88 and 4o of the intermediate portion I8 preferably have such resiliency as to permit flexing in a direction to permit the passage of the retainer I8 over the cross members of the fastener stud. They also have such rigidity to the movement of a fastener in the opposite direction as to substantially preclude removal therefrom without permanent deformation or destruction of the fastener.

While for purposes of illustrating the general type of stud fastener used, the transversely projecting members 28 have been shown as being of the type which are inserted into a suitable opening adjacent the end of the body 30, it will be appreciated that the transverse members 28 may be formed integrally or otherwise provided so as to extend on opposite sides of the body of the stud. The stud fasteners of this type are commonly used in connection with cowl fasteners in aircraft construction.

The stud fastener, comprising the cross members or projecting elements 28, the body 80, and the head 82, is shown in Figure3 in position inv an aperture 42 in a cover or sheet of material 44. The cover of sheet of material 44 is shown placed adjacent another body 46 forming a p0rtion of the surrounding surface adjacent an opening which is to be closed by the cover 44. The body 48 is provided with an aperture 48 adjacent which there is positioned a cowl fastener 50. This cowl fastener may be any one of a number of sultable types readily available for cooperation with a fastener stud of the type shown including those disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent 2,314,368 and 2,324,260. The fastener 50 is suitably secured to the plate 48 by rivets 52. The opening 48 in the plate 48 which is arranged coaxially with the opening in the cowl fastener 50 is formed with a diameter slightly in excess of the maximum dimensions across the cross pin 28 of the stud fastener supported from the cover 44. It will be seen from Figure 3 that the stud fastener retainer I readily nts within the opening 48 of the plate 48 without interfering with the operation of the fastening device so that the use of the present stud retainer does not require any modification in the construction of the application of the fastener stud or the cowl fastener which is to cooperate therewith.

It may be assumed that the opening 42 in the cover or plate 44 is of such dimension that the stud fastener may be inserted therethrough by tilting the body 38 so that one of the project- 4 ing members 28 is first inserted through the opening 42, and thereafter by straightening the position of the body I8. the other projecting member 28 is also passed through the opening 42. With the stud fastener in such position as is shown in Figure 4 a retainer is applied to the end of the body 30 with the concave side toward the cross pins or projecting members 28. Thereupon the washer is rotated relative to the stud fastener until the cross pins 28 lare located adjacent the ends of the nngers I4, 88. and 88, 48. Thereupon a force is applied to the head l2 of the stud in the direction of the arrows shown and a force is applied to the rim I4 of the retainer Ill in the opposite direction to cause iiexure of the fingers 34, 88, 38, and 40, to permit passage of the cross pin 28 through the retainer Il. The fingers 24, 38, 38, and 48 are sufficiently resilient as to permit passage of the cross pin 28 without deformation of the fingers and to return to their normal position.

Due to the fact that the fingers 84, 88, 88 and 40 are curved in the manner shown so as to form substantially the vertex of an obtuse angle, the one side of the retainer I0 is concave in part so as to assist in ready location of the cross pin 28 of the stud fasteners and to guide and. admit the cross pin when pressure is applied to the retainer thereby facilitating rapid assembly of the parts. Thus, the fingers 38, 48 are inclined toward each other, as are the fingers 34, 38, to form at one side of the retainer locating recesses which facilitate rapid location of the projections 28 during assembly and the inclination of the fingers on the opposite side of the retainer serves to resist alignment of the projections with the spacesbetween the fingers after assembly in that the curvature of the spring fingers causes the washer I0 to seek to orient the cross pins of the stud fastener at right angles to the adjacent surfaces of the fingers formed by the' diametrical severance line so that the cross pin rests adjacent the supporting areas 22 and 24, and hence even with very rough handling of the cover 44 there is no possibility of the fastener stud becoming disengaged from the retainer and from the cover. It will further be appreciated that by virtue of the fact that the fingers are closely adjacent and form substantially the vertex of an obtuse angle, that great difficulty will be experienced in removing the retainer so that such retainer even with the use of force will probably not be removed 4without destroying or permanently deforming the retainer. Thus a maximum amount of security for retaining a stud fastener is obtained.

The stud retainer shown in the drawing has been illustrated as having a fiat rim portion I4 which, however, may be strengthened by an annular corrugation or by a beaded rim if additional rigidity is deemed desirable. The resilient ngers which permit passage of the retainer over the transverse projecting members of the fastener stud have been shown as curving upwardly to form substantially the vertex of an obtuse angle. Other arrangements and configurations of the resilient fingers might be provided which would permit the passage of the projecting cross members of the fastener stud and yet tend to orient the cross members in the Proximity of the supporting positions so as to provide the maximum of security.

4 While a certain preferred embodiment has been shown for the purpose of describing and illustrating the present inventionI it is to be 'understood Minn is nut to be limited thereby #lilith mations `and modifications may be 1in" the structure and the configuration u are commensurate with the spirit and *nf the invention defined in the following It shank and an apertured work piece which the studshank extends, said stud Iaavinzoppositely positioned Projections mtwardiy from the shank and posithe aide of the workpiece oppositely i p from the head. and a snap-.on retainer il t intermediate the work piece and stud u ,slid snap-on retainer including a Intell washer member having an outer rim n `eimli'ltl stud receiving opening, `and an Miata portion supported by said outer rim circumferentially within said rim und severed at `diametricaliy opposite to opposed pairs `of readily flexern havlh the free extremities thereof `in the mme direction out oi the plane Masher rim toward said projections and the @Manent free extremities of each pair wir inclined toward one another to form www! at one side of the retainer to n MM WMI! location of the projections therethe adjacent tree extremities 30 p n 6 i of each pair o1' ngers at each diametrically op posite position being` spaced apartiess than the diameter of a projection and located so as to require temporary lateraldei'lection and consequent separation at their extremities when engaged by opposed `stud projections during telescopic assembly of the parts. whereby to permit passage of saidstud projections between the said lingers,

and the inclined surfaces of said fingers at the opposite side of the retainer resisting alignment of the projections withthe spaces between the said.

iingei's after assembly.,`

EDMOND C. CROWTHER.

REFERENCES crrnp UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name i Date` 490,435 Hall Jan. 24, 1893 n `558,398 Lettre Apr. 14, 1896 1,323,188 Humphris Nov. 25, 1919 1,715,883 Adams June 4, 1929 1,726,972' Zinnbauer Sept. 3, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 379,787 Great Britain Sept. 8, 19,32 

